Page 2 of The Duke's Tempting Widow
“The proper thing would have been to come to my chaperone and ask for an introduction.” Lydia answered with a secret smile of her own.
“Yes, but allowing you the space to come to me gave me a lovely opportunity to get a feel for the sort of woman that you are. I can normally read most women at functions like this.” He said as he led her toward the dance floor.
The moment that her slippers crossed the threshold while holding this man’s hand, whispers erupted around them. Lydia glanced around herself to those whispering behind their fans. She was no wallflower, but she was not accustomed to so many people talking about her either.
“Oh? And have you reached a conclusion as to what sort of woman I am?” Lydia asked.
“I shall let you know when I have finished making my assessment.” He teased, pulling her just a touch closer than was strictly modest as he led her around the dance floor.
A woman was always supposed to follow the lead of a man, that’s what father always said.
But father was not here tonight.
Lydia bit down on her bottom lip, and attempted to flip the direction of the dance so that she was in the lead. She knew that with so many eyes watching them, that he could not afford to make a scene here, but she was curious as to how he would handle it. He moved with surprising ease and swiftness considering how large of a man that he was. Though, he quickly resumed control of their moves with a chuckle.
“You shall have to try harder than that, my lady.” He taunted. There was a glimmer in his eyes that she could not deny, the compulsion to compete was far too strong.
“Just keeping you on your toes… well, I do not know what I am supposed to address you as, sir.” Lydia said as she took the lead once more.
“You can ask me my name, my lady, but I might lie. Is the allure of this evening not supposed to revolve around mystery?”
“True, I suppose that I could give you a false name as well.”
“Why stop there? Why not invent a whole new persona and backstory? It is certainly the time and place for such games.”
“Do not tempt me, sir. You will quickly come to find that I have a very expansive imagination.”
“You are going to make me regret that we only have tonight to spend together if you keep saying things like that.”
“You say such bold things, sir.” Lydia said while holding direct eye contact.
The man’s answer was to trail his hand down the curve of her spine, leaving a trail of gooseflesh in its wake. The air between them seemed to heat. She could read his intentions in the way he moved against her without him having to say a single word.
Their song was quickly coming to an end, and she did not wish to be parted from him so quickly. There was something electric about the way that he touched her and the moments where his fingers brushed against even the smallest patches of bare skin that seemed to set her on fire deep within her core. She had never felt such a connection to somebody before.
When the first song ended, an intimate waltz took its place. Feeling somewhat defeated, Lydia started to take a step away, but the mysterious man pulled her closer once more. It was hardly out of place. They were far from the only couple who was using the present anonymity to flirt far more than society’s standards would ever have allowed.
The masked man leaned down closer, whispering in her ear softly. “Come walk with me.”
It was more of a command than a question, but as he pulled her into a waltz pose, she could not think of anything that she would rather be doing.
As he pulled her upright, he winked. “Meet you outside.”
The choice was hers. But there was only one true option. Lydia had this feeling that if she did not go into that garden for a walk with him, that she would spend the whole rest of her life wondering ‘what if’.
Stepping outside she found something magical. The pathway down into the gardens was lined with rounded archways covered in vines and pretty flowers of bright colors. Small lamps illuminate the way to where the masked man waited for her.
Lydia walked slowly, letting her intuition guide her. She could hear others in the garden, hidden in small alcoves created by shrubs and bushes, making sounds that she had never heard before. Her same imagination could only wonder as to what they might have been up to.
Something that she might wish for herself.
Assuming, of course, that she could find the man in question. The further that she traveled into the garden maze, the harder it was to see. Lydia was moments away from pulling the mask off of her face when an arm caught her around the middle from behind, and pushed her mask right back down on her face.
“Leave it on,” he said.
Lydia waited for the nerves to settle in. Followed by that gnawing feeling that she normally got whenever she was about to do something that she knew that she wasn’t supposed to do, only it never came. The man’s hand cupped her neck softly as he stood behind her, the hand around her waist pulling her back into his firm body.
A thrill shot through her, and she bit her bottom lip as his fingers splayed over her stomach. She had certainly heard about her share of rakes in her years. Not only from Martha or the warnings from her father, but from the gossip mill that she always pretended that she did not cling to. She never thought that she would be alluring enough to tempt one of them, and wanted to capitalize on the experience.
